Tag: Houston Wedding

It’s always fun filming the wedding of a couple I’ve known for years. I met Paul at Texas A&M years ago, but it wasn’t until late 2014 that we reconnected. I was sitting in my church in Dallas when I saw him across the room and we made eye contact followed by amazing faces at each other for the next half hour. Since then, Katelyn and Paul have both become good friends to me and Rachel.

Now there are a few things you do need to know about this couple. First, they say that Rachel and I are “too hipster” for them, whatever that means. But if we are too hipster for them, then they are definitely too FUN for us. They travel, are super competitive with one another, they love board games, and are into Pokemon Go (which I would argue is important for any relationship). Rachel says we have a couple crush on them, and I would agree.

Look how fun they are!

Katelyn and Paul also share an incredible love for Jesus, and they chose to make Him the center of their wedding day. He was present in their prayerful notes, sweet vows, worship during the ceremony, and exuberant reception celebration. Their love for the Lord is reflected in their love for each other.

Rachel and I are so thankful we were able to film their wedding, and even more thankful for their friendship. If you’re reading this guys, we need to go play more Pokemon Go soon.

If you’re getting married and would like us to film your wedding, please reach out! We would love to talk to you.

Remember your first love in high school? I had one of those. And by “had”, I mean that I was the one in love; I don’t believe that the object of my affections actually knew I was in love with her. But thankfully this film isn’t about my high school romance, it’s about Will and Stephanie’s.

At this point though, you’re probably wondering what fairy tales have to do with high school. See, one of the oldest types of fairy tales is that of a couple, one of whom is usually a prince or princess of some sort, that meet, fall in love, and live happily ever after. While most prevalent in Disney movies like Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Snow White, there are many modern takes on the tale such as Enchanted and even Spider-Man. They all differ in how they tell it, but at the core they all revolve around a boy and girl meeting, falling in love despite all obstacles, and living happily ever after together.

What a modern fairy tale looks like, in case you were wondering.

As viewers, we identify with many aspects of these stories in our own lives (okay maybe not living under the sea or being bitten by a radioactive spider), we all remember one of our first experiences of love in high school. We envision meeting that perfect someone in class, falling in love, sticking together through college, getting married, and living happily ever after. That vision has become a modern fairy tale, one that we dream about when we are young and realize isn’t true when we walk the stage at graduation.

For me and most of us, I feel like that was okay. I don’t think many of us think back on high school with regret of never finding love. But what if we had? What if we met someone in class our junior year of high school, sixteen years old, daring to dream it could last forever, and it actually did? We would be living a modern fairy tale.

What I have just described is the story of Will and Stephanie. Sixteen years old, finding chemistry with each other in chemistry class of all places, and falling in love that lasts. These two give me hope, not that I will go back to high school and fall in love, I’m quite happy with my current love that I found in college; a hope that fairy tales come true even today. There’s something a bit magical about that, and I am glad that stories like theirs still exist in the world today.

Some of my best friendships have come from couples whose weddings I have filmed. We will often sit down over tacos and talk about their lives, their love, and how I can best show that through a film about their wedding day. I have been blessed to film some of the nicest, most outgoing, and unique couples, just by being myself and showing them what I can create for them.

With Thuy and Brady though, we didn’t have time to sit down and talk before their wedding. See, on January 30th, I got a call from Brady’s sister explaining that a family member had been hurt and because they were unable to make it to the wedding, they wanted a wedding film they could share. Also – and this was the critical part – the wedding was Saturday, February first, meaning I had two days to prepare.

I could tell from the very beginning though, even after only hearing Brady’s sister speak about them, that they were going to be some of the coolest people to film. So I called Brady and we talked all about how he and Thuy met, their love for music, and the cool surprises they had planned for the guests at their wedding. It was going to give an elegant country vibe, and because Thuy is Vietnamese, they changed outfits into traditional Vietnamese attire. Then they danced around and passed out lottery tickets to their guests while traditional Vietnamese music played. This was all so inventive and fun, and it really made the wedding fun to shoot.

The entire day was very windy, but we still had time to get some fun quadcopter shots of the venue. Between that and great cloud timelapses, this was a fun and dynamic wedding film to edit. Special thanks to Taylor Stanley for being available very last minute to help film.

It is a big help to me when you use any of the above product links to Adorama, Amazon, and B&H and when you get anything. It costs you nothing, and helps me keep my site running. I have bought from all of these websites and I highly recommend them for their service, quality, and shipping speed. I recommend them all personally.

The minister summed it up best when he described this wedding to the guests as “the best thanksgiving weekend of your life.” I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. Let’s talk about how I ended up spending my Saturday after Thanksgiving filming this day.

It all started when I agreed to film Bailey and Joel’s wedding way back in March 2013. Courtney is a good friend of Bailey and when Bailey mentioned she was having me film her wedding, Courtney gave me a call too. After whirlwind of conversation including how her and Mitchell invited 650 people to a venue that holds 400, his proposal in front of 10,000 people, and a lot of talk about Jesus, we were booked and ready for the day. You ever hit it off completely with a total stranger and find yourself completely at ease like an old friend? That’s how it feels talking to Courtney and Mitchell. Yes, both of them. And now they are married.

So I showed up with my crew that Saturday morning after Thanksgiving at Pecan Springs in Brookshire, Texas – just a little ways west of Houston. Incidentally, I’ve shot at the Springs Events wedding venues four times now, and they have always been great! But back to the story; one of the purposes of a wedding is to celebrate a joining of two people while they are surrounded by their family and closest friends. This celebration is normal and I see it every time I film a wedding. What was abnormal about Courtney and Mitchell’s wedding was just how vocal their friends and family members were about their love for them. I couldn’t go five minutes without one of the family members saying something great about them, how much they loved them, and how they were admired.

The minister continued this trend when he spoke about how they would change the world through their love of Jesus and his plans for them. He was echoed by Mitchell’s father telling them, “You will change the world, and through your children the world will be further changed.” The weight of that statement was felt by every person in the room, and I believe it only added to the excitement and joy of the day. The guests at this wedding were attending far more than just a normal wedding ceremony, they were witnessing the union of two world changers. That may sound cheesy, but if you meet Mitchell and Courtney you would believe it in a second.

On a less serious and more technical note, there were a lot of things that made this wedding fun to film. The weather was beautiful in a way that only an outdoor Texas wedding in November can be. The air was cool but not cold, the clouds streamed by quickly overhead, and the alligator played in the pond behind the venue. The venue owners said that a flood brought the gator to them, but I am still holding out hope that they name it and make it a venue mascot. “Gator Springs” has a nice sound to it! Incidentally, I brought my Konova motion controlled slider along to film timelapses, and managed to capture some really great ones of the venue. In the night timelapse of the pond with the stars overhead, you can actually see the alligator swimming around.

This is the first full wedding edit I have posted on my blog. I feel that it is one of the best stories I have told through my wedding films, and I didn’t want to lessen the message by sharing only the highlight film. That said, if you would like to watch the highlight film too, you can watch it below.

Special thanks to Taylor Stanley and Kylie Best for helping me film this wedding.

Download Courtney and Mitchell’s wedding film and highlight at whoismatt.com.

It is a big help to me when you use any of the above product links to Adorama, Amazon, and B&H and when you get anything. It costs you nothing, and helps me keep my site running. I have bought from all of these websites and I highly recommend them for their service, quality, and shipping speed. I recommend them all personally.

I love getting to know the people at weddings. Some weddings have a goofy groom or bride. Some have a funny toast or a choreographed dance. But I loved Sara and Ryan’s wedding because I felt like everyone at their wedding knew one another so well that any joke that was made was instantly understood by everyone. It was like there was someone telling inside jokes, but were were all in on it so it made it even funnier. When you watch their film I’m sure you will understand.

That everyone at the wedding knew each other so well wouldn’t surprise you, especially when you meet Sara. I swear this bride has never met a stranger. I was not only welcomed as a friend at their wedding, I felt like I was part of the family. Between her friendliness and Ryan’s genuine kindness, it was obvious that these two were perfect for one another. Moreover, it was apparent that their families were happy to be joined together.

I had a tough time editing their wedding film because there was just so much good stuff I wanted to put in it. One of the fun things I did was shoot a lot more timelapses. Special thanks to Taylor Stanley for helping me shoot this too.

It is a big help to me when you use any of the above product links to Adorama, Amazon, and B&H and when you get anything. It costs you nothing, and helps me keep my site running. I have bought from all of these websites and I highly recommend them for their service, quality, and shipping speed. I recommend them all personally.